


How They Met

by ahgabounce



Series: 12 Days of Christmas with JJP [1]
Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, angst in chapter 2, thats about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:06:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8846242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahgabounce/pseuds/ahgabounce
Summary: "oh? it's you again. what do you want?" he said with a flat tone.*chapter 2 is pure angst :-)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HOHOHO! It's the start of my christmas series! I'll be uploading daily from now till christmas, so hold on tight, cause it's gonna be a ride. ;)
> 
> inspiration:  
> https://twitter.com/caramelpopJB/status/807209989790044161  
> (jb looking sad as he walks out of the cafe)

It was like any other day. Jinyoung woke up to his blaring alarm, rolling over on his bed to turn it off before sitting up and rubbing his eyes, yawning as he stood up to get ready for the day. He did the usual washing up, putting on his work clothes before walking a few blocks to the cafe he worked at. Jinyoung sighed happily, taking in the scenery as he went through the park, bowing politely to people he passed. 

 

Walking through the park always made a great start to his day as Jinyoung enjoyed surrounding himself in nature, a smile playing on his lips as he nodded at people he recognised. Everything was  _ fine and dandy _ until he was rudely bumped into by a businessman rushing to work (he presumed) from his pace and anxious expression. Jinyoung’s smile disappeared on his lips as he turned to look at the man who was now on the floor, having fallen after bumping into him. Jinyoung gazed at him expectantly, only to be disappointed by the stranger’s lack of acknowledgement, instead looking at him dazedly, as if questioning how he’d ended up on the floor. Jinyoung sighed, offering his hand to help the strange man up.  _ What a  _ **_great_ ** _ way to start the day, _ he thought to himself. Shaking his head to clear his mind of the annoyance, he put on a smile, albeit smaller than before,  as he entered his workplace. “Hey, Mark!” Jinyoung grinned, calling out to his colleague as he put on his apron, getting ready to take orders. He turned around to face the counter when he heard the door chime, signalling a customer entering. 

 

“Welcome to Jackson’s Coffee! What can I- oh. It’s you. What would you like, sir?” Jinyoung’s upbeat tone went flat when he recognised the customer, it was the strange man from earlier. Jinyoung strained to keep his smile on his face and hoped that his change in voice had gone unnoticed, not wanting to sabotage the reputation of his beloved friend’s cafe. However, it seemed like the man had indeed picked up on it, his smile diminishing ever so slightly. “J-just a plain coffee, thanks.” The man answered, lowering his gaze to the counter. “I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just-- I’ve never seen someone as strikingly handsome as you, so I was thrown off balance (literally) for a moment.” The man smiled at his pun, and then continued. “Fortunately, I managed to catch sight of you entering this cafe. I don’t know what I’d feel if I knew that I’d started your day off wrong, but not be able to do anything about it.” The man rubbed his neck sheepishly before lifting his arm to glance at his watch habitually. “Shit! I’m really going to be late for work now! Sorry, I’ll come back for the coffee later!” With that, the man took off, leaving Jinyoung to think about his words. How had he known what Jinyoung was thinking about starting his day off badly? Had he accidentally let it slip out loud when he’d been thinking about that earlier? Or was the man just a mind-reader?

 

As much as Jinyoung tried to keep his thoughts off the strange man for the whole morning, it didn’t work and he only grew increasingly curious about how the man could have known, lifting his head every time a customer entered to see if it was him. Finally, at 12:30pm sharp (Jinyoung had been glancing at the clock every minute or so), just as he was about to get off work early to go on a blind date Mark and Jackson had coerced him into, the man came back. For his coffee, of course. Not to see Jinyoung. At least that’s was Jinyoung told himself when he felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach when the man had indeed kept his promise.

 

“So, can I get my coffee now? And how about your name too? Mine’s Jaebum.”

 

“Jaebum sshi, my name’s literally printed on my nametag here. Now, if you could just lower your gaze a little…” Jinyoung resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man, turning around to start on his order. 

 

“I know, but I want to hear you say it yourself, Jinyoung.” Jinyoung whipped his head around, preparing to lash out at Jaebum for teasing him when he saw the look in his eyes- it wasn’t one of mockery, it was a look filled with sincerity. So he softened, “I’m Jinyoung. But hey, how did you know about starting my day off wrong?” He glared at Jaebum, already formulating a response in his head for any bullshit Jaebum might feed him. He wasn’t going to have any of it. 

 

“Oh, that...well, I heard you voicing your thoughts. I swear I didn’t read your mind or anything!” The man lifted his hands, waving them frantically to support his claim. 

 

“What’s this about reading my mind? Are you sure you really didn’t?” Jinyoung was suspicious now, growling at Jaebum menacingly. 

 

“N-no, I really, really didn’t do anything! I, I just find you cute so…” Jaebum trailed off, a blush creeping up his cheeks when he realised he’d probably scared Jinyoung off by admitting that he found him attractive. “N-nevermind. Can I just have my coffee now? To go.” Jaebum looked at the ground, obviously embarrassed and regretful that he’d just blown any chances of getting together with Jinyoung by saying so. He sighed internally, grabbing the coffee when it was placed on the counter and turning to leave with heavy steps. He was further saddened when Jinyoung didn’t make any attempts to stop him from leaving. He was holding on to a tiny bit of hope that maybe,  _ maybe _ Jinyoung didn’t mind after all, but he guessed Jinyoung was probably creeped out (as he should be) by his advances. Not that he’d really made any at all. 

 

Letting out a sigh, Jaebum lifted the cup to his lips as he walked, sipping at the coffee and letting the bitterness seep through his soul.  _ Wait, what’s this? _ He squinted, there was some writing on the side of the cup that he couldn’t quite make out. Moving his thumb so it was no longer obscuring the scribble, he realised it read, ‘I find you cute too.’ His heart exploded in happiness as he pumped his fist in the air, a weight having been lifted from his heart. So Jinyoung didn’t despise him at all! He smiled to himself, this could very well be the start of new beginnings.

 

From that day on, Jaebum visited the cafe daily during his lunchtime to see more of Jinyoung. They made small talk, exchanging their opinions on certain books and Jinyoung even introduced him to his friend! Never mind that that friend was Mark who also worked at the cafe, meaning that Jaebum could probably have befriended him himself instead. Jaebum didn’t make further advances on Jinyoung, though he did make it clear that he was interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with Jinyoung. He was fine if Jinyoung didn’t see him that way- all he wanted was to see Jinyoung being happy, everyday. That’s all that mattered. Though he did feel a little sad when he saw Jinyoung always laughing happily with Mark, disappointed that he hadn’t been the one to make Jinyoung smile so hard that his eye wrinkles appeared.

 

And it continued this way for a period of time, until one day, Jaebum entered the cafe cheerily, expecting to see Jinyoung, except he was nowhere in sight. Jaebum was confused- Jinyoung would’ve told him if he was taking a day off, so this was very new for him. He walked up to the counter hesitantly, asking Mark if he knew of Jinyoung’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, Mark seemed to have no idea as well, and Jaebum left the cafe confused, worried and most of all doubtful. He hated himself for not having the guts to ask Jinyoung out for the past few months he’d been hanging out at the cafe, and he was now doubtful of Jinyoung’s feelings towards him. And worried about where he could’ve gone without informing him in advance. Besides, he didn’t know if Jinyoung would ever return to the cafe, and he didn’t know where else to look for him. He sighed, running his hand through his hair and walking home with heavy footsteps at the thought of not being able to see Jinyoung ever again. It was scary how Jinyoung had unknowingly become such an integral portion of his life in just a few months, even though they weren’t even dating (yet). It felt like deja vu, except worse since he didn’t even have a cup of coffee to accompany him this time. 

 

The very next day, Jaebum could not wait any longer, choosing to rise early so he could catch Jinyoung at the cafe in the morning- if he was there. He didn’t get any sleep the whole night as he couldn’t stop thinking of Jinyoung and what could have happened to him _._ He put on a suit, grabbing his briefcase and heading out the door, speed walking to the cafe Jinyoung worked at and _praying_ that he would be there today. 

 

A smile spread on his face as he noticed Jinyoung when he walked in. He’d never been this happy to see him before, and if that didn’t give him affirmations of his feelings, then he didn’t know what would. “Jinyoung-ah, where did you go yesterday?” A frown made his way on Jaebum’s face as the mention of yesterday, remembering how worried he’d been for Jinyoung the whole night. 

 

“I was sick, hyung. I called Mark to inform you as soon as I remembered that you’d be stopping by, but I guess you’d left by then.” Mark nodded at his words, “Jaebum left pretty quickly when he realised you weren’t here, he didn’t even bother to get a coffee!” 

 

Jaebum’s heart started pounding when Jinyoung’s words sank in. Jinyoung had called Mark to tell him that he was sick just so Jaebum wouldn’t worry about him? Did that mean Jinyoung was interested in him, too? He barely processed Mark’s words, only interested in Jinyoung. 

 

“Jinyoung-ah, how about we exchange phone numbers so you can just call me directly next time?” Jaebum suggested, smile growing on his lips when Jinyoung agreed. Jaebum quickly sent a text to Jinyoung so he’d have his number too.

  
  


**Jaebum hyunggg: 09:47**

_ Does this mean you like me back? ;) _

 

**Jinyoungie <3: 09:48**

_ What do you think? c; _

  
Jaebum grinned at the response, leaning in for a kiss. “Well, I sure think you do!” He teased, bopping the younger’s nose with his index finger. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back for you later, _my precious_ _Jinyoungie_.” He smirked as he left the cafe. _Oh, he was_ ** _so_** _looking forward to his lunch break._


	2. A step too late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the alternate ending to chapter 1. i was initially going to make two endings but the majority wanted fluff, so that's what i wrote.. but i couldn't resist writing some angst. so here you go!

Jaebum was happy. Happier than usual. Jinyoung had given him his phone number today, written on the napkin he’d passed to Jaebum along with his coffee, and Jaebum intended to make good use of it. 

 

And so he did. 

 

He texted Jinyoung as soon as he got off work, engaging in playful banters as they made their way home. They texted each other frequently, but Jaebum never made any advances on Jinyoung. He wasn’t sure if Jinyoung liked him back, and he wasn’t about to risk their friendship on something that may not even work out. 

 

On hindsight, he should have taken a chance. 

 

Even rejection was better than this. 

 

The day he finally mustered his courage to confess to Jinyoung, he walked into the cafe confidently, expecting to be greeted by Jinyoung. Except there was no Jinyoung- only Mark. Jaebum was disappointed, Jinyoung hadn’t informed him beforehand that he wouldn’t be coming to work today, so he’d wasted his efforts to prepare for nothing.  _ Well, maybe he’ll come in tomorrow.  _ He thought to himself, calming his anxious heart as he headed to work. 

 

And there Jinyoung was, the next day, standing at the counter and greeting Jaebum with a cheerful smile as if nothing had happened yesterday. 

 

“Why didn’t you come to work yesterday, Jinyoung-ah?” Jaebum asked softly, noticing how the younger’s smile faltered a bit at his question. 

 

“...I was on a date. Sorry, hyung...but he asked to be my boyfriend yesterday, and I agreed.”

 

_ Oh.  _

 

“...Co-congratulations, Jinyoung-ah. That’s great news! I hope you’ll be happy with him.” Jaebum forced a smile, hoping it didn’t look awkward as he pretended to be happy for Jinyoung.

 

_ Surely not as happy as I make you… _

 

_ But we’ll never know. _

  
_ Because I was too late.  _

**Author's Note:**

> leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed! i wrote a bit more than usual bc i got carried away with this au. :')
> 
> -Joy (ahgabounce)


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